Cross lapper

ABSTRACT

A cross lapper for making a multilayer fibrous mat and including a frame, first and second endless driven conveyors respectively carried by reciprocating supports which are moved between extreme positions on the frame by a fluid ram having its cylinder connected to the frame and its piston rod connected to one of the supports. A fixed rack is carried by the frame and a second rack is carried by one of the supports with a pinion engaging the respective racks and has its axis aligned with the axis of a fluid ram. The means for supplying pressure fluid to opposite ends of the cylinder is in the form of a fluid circuit having a fluid-actuated control device interposed between a pressure fluid source and the cylinder with first and second flow paths between the source and opposite ends of the control device, each of the flow paths having a control valve therein. The control valves are positioned to define extreme positions for the supports and are actuated when the supports reach the extreme positions to reverse the position of the control device.

United States Patent Swados [451 Feb. 1, 1972 [72] Inventor:

[52] U.S.Cl ..l9/l63, 226/108, 198/84 [51] Int. Cl. ..D04h 11/00 [58] Fieldoisearch ..198/11 1, 112, 75, 84; 226/1 13,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,387,150 10/1945 Hlavaty ..19/l63 2,529,777 ll/l950 Mclnnis.... ....198/135 3,104,790 9/1963 De Haven 198/75 3,347,111 10/1967 Rouillard ..74/29 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,099,594 1/1968 Great Britain ..19/163 Primary Examiner-Richard E. Aegerter Anamey-Dressler, Goldsmith, Clement & Gordon [57] ABSTRACT A cross lapper for making a multilayer fibrous mat and including a frame, first and second endless driven conveyors respectively carried by reciprocating supports which are moved between extreme positions on the frame by a fluid ram having its cylinder connected to the frame and its piston rod connected to one of the'supports. A fixed rack is carried by the frame and a second rack is carried by one of the supports with a pinion engaging the respective racks and has its axis aligned with the axis of a fluid ram. The means for supplying pressure fluid to opposite ends of the cylinder is in the form of a fluid circuit having a fluid-actuated control device interposed between a pressure fluid source and the cylinder with first and second flow paths between the source and opposite ends of the control device, each of the flow paths having a control valve therein. The control valves are positioned to define extreme positions for the supports and are actuated when the supports reach the extreme positions to reverse the position of the control device.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures CROSS LAPPER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for making multilayer fibrous webs.

In the formation of multilayer webs or bats of feltlike fibrous material, it is customary to deliver a sheet or web of carded fibrous material to a continuously moving receiving apron of a lapping machine. The carded web has its fibers disposed substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the web.

The lapper is arranged to deposit successive folds or laps of the web on an accumulating conveyor or apron arranged at right angles to the direction of movement of the carded web. For this purpose, the lapper includes first and second vertically spaced conveyors which are driven in the direction of the first web and are reciprocated between first and second positions to deposit the web in an overlapping angularly related relation to the direction of movement of the accumulating conveyor.

While apparatus of this type has been known for years, manufacturers of such apparatus are continually striving to increase the speed of operation of such units without increasing the overall cost of the machinery.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates a lapper in which the drive means for the reciprocating supports for the conveyors are completely fluid operated and the guide means for the supports are fabricated and arranged in a manner to minimize critical alignment of the various parts while utilizing conventional fabrication techniques.

According to the present invention, the drive means for reciprocating endless conveyors consists of a rack and and pinion arrangement with one rack fixed to a frame and a second rack carried by one of the supports for the endless conveyors. In the illustrated embodiment, the fixed rack is located adjacent the upper edge of the support for an upper conveying unit while the other of the racks is connected to an upper surface of the support for a lower endless conveyor.

The drive means further includes a fluid ram, preferably air actuated, that has its cylinder connected to the frame and its piston rod connected to the upper support with the longitudinal axis of the ram in horizontal alignment with the axis of the pinion. Such an arrangement virtually eliminates uneven loading of the relatively movable elements since all of the forces of movement are located along a common plane.

The means for supplying pressured fluid to opposite ends of the cylinder from a pressured fluid source includes a fluid-actuated control device which is movable between its first and second operative positions to connect the source to opposite ends of the cylinder while connecting the remaining end to an exhaust. The means for actuating the control device to move between first and second operative positions is likewise a fluid control circuit which includes first and second flow paths between the source and respective ends of the control device with each ofthe flow paths having a control valve therein. The control valves are of the on-off type and are located in a position defining the respective extreme positions for the supports. One of the supports also carries means for actuating the respective control devices when the associated support is in either of the extreme positions, all of which is accomplished without any direct contact between the support and the valves thereby considerably reducing the shock loads imparted to the control unit.

According to a further aspect of the invention, each of the supports is guided by a plurality of guide rollers of resinous material which cooperates with polygonal guide bars. Each of the guide rollers or members has a first portion engaging one surface of the polygonal guide bar and a second portion engaging a second surface of the guide bar so that each of the guide rollers simultaneously controls the movement of the support in two different planes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 of the drawings discloses a lapping machine having the drive means of the present invention incorporated therein;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the machine as viewed along line 2-2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view as viewed along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing a drive arrangement for the various endless conveyors;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the fluid control circuit incorporated in the present drive means;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical center sectional view taken generally along line 66 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail one specific embodiment, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles ofthe invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly FIG. I, a continuous web or single layer of fibrous material 10 is delivered from a web-forming machine, such as a conventional single doffer Garnett or carding machine (not shown). The continuous web of material 10 is deposited on an endless conveyor 12 supported on a frame structure, generally designated by the reference numeral 14. The endless conveyor 12 is entrained about a roll 16, driven from a power source (not shown) by belt 17, and guided by a plurality of guide rolls 18 supported for rotation on the frame 14.

The endless web or single layer 10 is delivered by the conveyor 12 to a fist lapping conveyor mechanism 20 (FIG. 2) which deposits the web on a second lapping conveyor mechanism 22 and the web is ultimately delivered through guide rollers 24 onto-an accumulating conveyor 26. traveling in a direction at right angles to the advance of the single layer web 10. The accumulating conveyor 26 is driven by a separate power source 27 at a speed that will have a plurality of layers of the single web arranged in generally superposed relation by the reciprocation of the upper and lower cross conveyor mechanisms 20 and 22. Since the angular relation and the number of layers of web in the ultimate web or bat form no part of the present invention, no further detailed description appears to be necessary.

In order to deposit successive laps or folds of the single layer web 10 onto the accumulating conveyor 26, the conveyor mechanisms 20 and 22 are reciprocated between extreme positions above the accumulating conveyor so that the first lap, received on the conveyor 26, will be deposited at an angle extending diagonally of the direction of the travel of the conveyor 26 while the second or subsequent lap will be likewise located diagonally but at an opposite diagonal direction to the previous lap.

The reciprocation of the upper and lower conveyor mechanisms 20 and 22 is accomplished by drive means and guide means constructed in accordance with the present invention. For this purpose, the upper conveying mechanism 20 (FIG. 2) includes an endless conveyor 30, of the slotted apron type, guided on rolls 32 and 34 respectively and carried by shafts 36 and 38, one of which is driven in a manner to be described later. The shafts 36 and 38 are supported for rotation on the rigid support 40, the opposite sides of which are guided by guide means 42 to move the support in a generally horizontal plane between first and second extreme positions.

The second or lower conveying mechanism 22 likewise includes an endless slotted apron-type conveyor 46 entrained over rolls 47 carried by a support 48 which has guide means 50 (FIG. 2) cooperating with opposite sides thereof for guidance along a generally horizontal path or plane below the path of movement of the upper conveyor mechanism 20.

The drive means of the present invention includes first and second rack and pinion means 52 cooperating with opposite sides of the supports 40 and 48. Since, both rack and pinion means are identical in construction, only one has been shown and will be described in detail.

The rack and pinion means 52 (FIG. 3) includes an upper rack 54 fixed to the frame adjacent one side of the support 40 with the rack having downwardly facing gear teeth 56 defined thereon. A lower rack 58, having upwardly facing gear teeth 60 defined thereon, is carried by the lower support 48 through a plurality of spaced rack supports 62. A pinion 64 engages both sets of teeth 56 and 60 and is supported for rotation on a stub shaft 66, rotated on the upper support 40. Thus, reciprocating motion of one of the supports, 40 or 48, is transmitted through the rack and pinion means 52 to reciprocate the other of the supports in the same direction and at twice the speed.

The drive means of the present invention further includes a fluid ram 70 including a cylinder or first element 72 and a piston and rod assembly or second element 74. The opposite ends of the cylinder are fixedly secured to crossmembers 76 (FIG. 2), forming part of the frame structure 14, while the piston rod 74 is fixedly secured to a crossmember 78, defining one end of the support 40, as more clearly illustrated in FIGS. 2, 6 and 7. An inspection of FIGS. 3 and 7 will show that the longitudinal axis of the fluid ram 70 is in a common horizontal plane with the axis of the stub shaft 66 supporting the respective pinions 64 on the support 40. Thus, the horizontal alignment of the longitudinal axis of fluid ram 70 with the axes of the stub shafts 66 will reduce, if not eliminate, any torque which could otherwise be applied to the frame structure during extension and retraction of the fluid ram. It should also be noted that the fluid ram is also centered transversely between opposite sides of the support 40 so that a single ram may be used and the forces applied by the ram will be equally distributed to the respective rack and pinion means and further reduce any uneven loading of the various elements during operation.

The reciprocation of the respective supports 40 and 48 carrying the endless conveyors 30 and 46 is accomplished by alternately supplying pressured fluid to opposite ends of the cylinder 72 to extend and retract the piston and rod assembly 74 relative to the fixed cylinder 72. The means for supplying pressured fluid, preferably of the pneumatic type, such as air, to opposite ends of the fluid ram is schematically illustrated in FIG. and includes a pressurized source of air (not shown) connected to an inlet conduit 100 which communicates with an intermediate port 102 of a four way fluid actuated control device or valve 104 through a conduit 106. The valve 104 may be a Model No. 4JDPA48, manufactured by Numatics, Inc., Highland, Mich. The conduit 106 preferably includes a lubricator 108, a pressure regulator 110 and a filter 112.

The fluid-actuated control device or valve 104 has first and second outlet ports 120 and 122 connected to opposite ends of the cylinder 72 through conduits 124 and 126 with each of the conduits having a speed control valve 128 therein, which controls the flow of fluid through the respective conduits. The control device 104 further includes a pair ofexhaust ports 129 which respectively are connected to the one end of the cylinder 72 while fluid is being supplied to the other of the ends. The speed control valve or independently adjustable control means 128 may be of the commercially available type manufactured by Schrader Div., Scovill Mfg. Co., Wake Forest, N.C., No. 3250C. These valves are used to independently adjust the flow rate through the respective conduits 124, 126 and, thus, control the rate of movement of the supports.

The means for supplying pressured fluid to opposite ends of the cylinder 72 further includes control means for moving the fluid actuated device 104 between first and second operative positions. According to another aspect of the present invention, this latter means again includes a fluid circuit, thereby eliminating any electric circuits in the cross-lapper control and drive means. This arrangement considerably reduces the danger of electric shock presently in existence in apparatus of this type.

The means for actuating the control device 104 includes means defining first and second flow paths 134 and 136 between the pressured fluid source and opposite ends 138 and 140 of the control device 104. The respective flow paths 134 and 136 are defined by conduits 142 and 144 each having an on-off" type control valve 146 therein with the respective conduits communicating with the supply source through a common conduit 148 having a filter 150 and a pressure regulator 152. The conduits 142 and 144 are of the flexible type and the respective control valves 146 are each supported on a rail forming part of the frame 14. The valves 146 are preferably slidable relative to the rail 160 and are held in adjusted position by a latch mechanism generally designated as 162 in FIG. 6 of the drawings. Thus, either of the control valves 146 can be moved longitudinally relative to the rail 160 and attached in any position by manipulation of the latch mechanisms 162.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the control valves 146 are of the magnetic type, such as are commercially available from General Equipment & Mfg. Co., Louisville, Ky., Model No. 77-l00, which can be actuated by moving a metallic member adjacent one surface thereof. The metallic actuating member or plate 166 is connected to a channel member 168 of the support 48 through a bracket 169. The control valves or switches 146 and the depending plate 166 are positioned so that the adjacent surfaces of the plate are in close proximity to each other, on the order of l/l6- to ,l/8- inch spacing, as the support 48 is moved along the path between extreme first and second positions.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the guiding of the respective supports or frames 40 and 48 is accomplished with a minimum number of parts that cooperate in a manner to eliminate any critical alignment of the various elements. Thus, the guide means 42 and 50 (FIG. 6) each include polygonal guide bars 170 fixedly secured to the frame 14 and each cooperating with respective upper and lower rollers 172 and 174 and 176 and 178.The rollers cooperate with respective surfaces of the guide bars 170 to maintain the respective supports 40 and 48 in vertical as well as horizontal positions for movement along a predetermined path between extreme positions.

As is more clearly shown in FIG. 6, each of the guide rollers includes a circumferential surface 180 defining a first portion cooperating with a first side or surface 182 of the rectangular guide bar 170 and an enlarged radially extending flange 184 defining a second portion 186 which cooperates with a side or surface 188 on the rail 170. Thus, each of the guide rollers, which are formed ofa resinous material, prevent movement of the frames in two directions. i

Since there are identical rails and rollers located on the opposite sides of the respective supports 40 and 48, a minimum number of rollers can be utilized to accurately position and guide the frames along their respective paths.

In the illustrated embodiment, it will be seen that (FIG. 3) only two upper guide rollers 172 and one lower guide roller 174 for each side of the upper support 40 are needed to guide the upper support 40 along its path. Likewise, the lower support 48 is guided along a predetermined path by a pair of upper guide rollers 176 and a single lower guide roller 178.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the upper guide rails 170 on each side of the support 40 are an integral extension of the rack 54 to considerably reduce the amount of alignment required in assembling the various parts.

While the endless conveyors 30 and 46 are driven by conventional drive means, a disclosure thereof has been shown in FIG. 4 and will now be briefly described for purposes of completeness. As is indicated above, the roll 16 having the endless belt 12 entrained thereon, is driven by a suitable power source. In order to drive the respective endless conveyors 30 and 46, an endless chain 200 is entrained over a sprocket connected to the end of the roll 16 and cooperates with a first sprocket 202 carried on the end of shaft 38 and a second sprocket 204 carried on the end of roll 47 about which the endless conveyor 46 is entrained. A plurality of idler sprockets 210 are respectively located on the frame 14 and the supports 40 and 48 so that the sprockets 202 and 204 are constantly rotated in opposite directions while the two supports 40 and 48 are reciprocated relative to the frame 14.

OPERATION The operation of the lapping apparatus described above is believed to be apparent from the above description, but will be briefly summarized here. A pressurized air source is connected to the conduit 100 to supply pressured fluid to port 102 of the control valve 104, as well as pressurize the first and second flow paths 134 and 136. Assuming that the two frames 40 and 48 are in the extreme left hand position as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 5, the conveyors and 46 are in substantially end-to-end relationship with the conveyor 46 being disposed below the conveyor 30. During the movement to the extreme left-hand position, the left-hand control valve 146 had been actuated to open the flow path 134 and actuate the fluid control solenoid 138 on the left-hand side of the control valve 104.-Thus positioning the valve to supply pressured fluid to conduit 124 while conduit 126 is in communication with one of the exhausts 129. With this arrangement, the piston rod 74 will be extending to move the support 40 along a predetermined horizontal path defined by the upper leftand righthand guide bars or rails 170. Simultaneous with such movement, the pinion 64, carried by the support 40, will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 3, and the combined rotation of the pinion as well as the movement of the support 40 to the right will cause the lower support 48 to move rightwardly at a rate twice the rate of movement of the upper support 40. As the actuating means 166 is moved past the left-hand control switch 146, the switch will be closed to condition the circuit for a subsequent operation. However, the control device 104 will remain in the same position.

When the lower support approaches its right-hand extreme position, the actuating means or plate 166 will move past the adjacent surface of the right-hand control valve or switch 146 to open the switch and supply pressured fluid to the second flow path 136 to the right-hand fluid control solenoid 140 of the valve 104 thereby reversing the position of the valve. Because of the compressibility of the pneumatic fluid, there will be some movement beyond the point at which the valve is reversed thereby moving the plate 166 beyond the right-hand control valve 146 before an actual reversal in direction of movement is accomplished. As the piston rod 74 begins its retraction by supplying pressured fluid through conduit 126, the plate 166 will again pass the right-hand control valve 146 and close the valve for a subsequent operation. However, because the opposite valve 146 remains closed, the position of the control device 104 remains the same. Again, as the plate 166 approaches the left-hand control valve 146, the valve is actuated to supply pressured fluid to the left-hand end 138 of the control device 104 and again reverse the direction of movement of the piston rod or element 74.

By utilizing a completely fluid-actuated or pneumatic system for driving the supports 40 and 48, it has been found that a very smooth reversal of direction of the supports can be accomplished and that the device can be operated at greater speeds than was heretofore known.

Furthermore, utilizing the rollers made of resinous material and simultaneously engaging two angularly related surfaces of the polygonal rails 170 will result in a substantially frictionfree movement of the supports 40 and 48 relative to the fixed frame 14. Furthermore, having the fluid ram 70 and the axes of the respective stub shafts 66 horizontally aligned substantially eliminates supplying any torque loads to the driven frame 40. In addition, the fact that the force through the piston rod from the fluid is applied centrally between opposite sides of the support 40 will further insure that there is no binding or tendency for the support 40 to be moved other than along a generally parallel path.

The entire arrangement of the present drive means for the supports 40 and 48 considerably reduces the critical alignment problem heretofore encountered in assembling the various components to make up an assembled structure.

Furthermore, the simplified guide means reduces the number of elements heretofore considered necessary for properly guiding the entire frames along their predetermined paths. in fact, it has been determined that the use of the particular rollers formed of a resinous material and a cooperation of these rollers with the polygonal tracks reduces the number of rollers to half that previously required or'considered necessary for proper guiding of the respective frames.

I claim:

1. In a lapper for making a multilayer fibrous web and having a frame, a first endless driven conveyor mounted on a support reciprocated between extreme positions in a first plane on said frame; a second endless driven conveyor mounted on a support and reciprocated between extreme positions on said frame along a second plane parallel to and below said first plane, and drive means for reciprocating said supports, the improvement of said drive means comprising a first rack supported on said frame adjacent one of said supports; a second rack secured to the other of said supports; a pinion engaging said racks, said pinion rotatable on said one of said supports about an axis extending parallel to said planes; a fluid ram having extensible and retractable elements, said ram having a first element connected to said frame and a second element connected to one of said supports with the axis of said ram aligned with the axis of said pinion; and means for supplying pressured fluid to opposite ends of one element of said ram to extend and retract said elements thereby reciprocating said supports between first and second positions.

2. A lapper as defined in claim 1, in which said last means includes a pressured fluid source; a fluidctuated device having first and second operative positions; conduit means interconnecting said control device with opposite ends of said one element and with said source; means defiiiing first and second flow paths between said source and opposite ends of said valve with each of said paths having a control valve therein, said control valves being positioned to define said extreme positions for said supports and actuating means for respectively actuating said control valves when said supports approach said extreme positions.

3. A lapper as defined in claim 2, in which said fluid source is pneumatic. i

4. A lapper as defined in claim 2, in which said valves in said flow paths are magnetically actuated and said actuating means includes a metallic plate.

5. A lapper as defined in claim 2, in which said conduit means includes separate flow control valves between said control device and respective ends of said one element.

6. A lapper as defined in claim 1, including the further improvement of first and second polygonal guide bars on said frame; a plurality of guide rollers of resinous material on each of said supports, each guide roller having a first portion engaging one surface of said bar and a second portion engaging a second surface of said bar.

7. A lapper as defined in claim 5, in which one of said guide bars is an integral extension of said fixed rack;

8. A lapper for making a multilayer fibrous web comprising a frame, an upper and a lower support reciprocated between extreme positions along spaced horizontal planes; an endless conveyor on each of said supports; first and second guide means for each of said supports, each said guide means comprising a rectangular guide bar on said frame adjacent said support and a plurality of rollers on each support cooperating with said guide bars, each said rollers having an enlarged radial flange cooperating with a surface of said bar; extensions integral with each of the guide bars of one of said supports, said extensions having gear teeth thereon; first and second racks carried by the other of said supports and vertically aligned with the respective extensions; a pair of v pinions rotatable about a common axis and respectively interposed between the extensions and racks; a single fluid cylinder and piston rod assembly located between said frame and one of said supports; and means for selectively supplying pressurized fluid to opposite ends of said cylinder to move said supports between extreme positions.

9. A lapper as defined in claim 8, in which said last means comprises a pressurized pneumatic fluid source; a pneumatically actuated four-way valve; conduit means connecting said four-way valve to said source and opposite ends of said cylinder; means defining first and second flow paths between said source and opposite ends of said valves, each of said flow paths having a control valve incorporated therein with said control valve being supported in spaced relation adjacent one side of one of said supports; and actuating means carried on said one side for opening and closing said control valves.

10. A lapper as defined in claim 9, including the further improvement of independently adjustable control means in said conduit means between said four way valve and opposite ends of said cylinder for adjusting the flow of fluid to said cylinder. 

1. In a lapper for making a multilayer fibrous web and having a frame, a first endless driven conveyor mounted on a support reciprocated between extreme positions in a first plane on said frame; a second endless driven conveyor mounted on a support and reciprocated between extreme positions on said frame along a second plane parallel to and below said first plane, and drive means for reciprocating said supports, the improvement of said drive means comprising a first rack supported on said frame adjacent one of said supports; a second rack secured to the other of said supports; a pinion engaging said racks, said pinion rotatable on said one of said supports about an axis extending parallel to said planes; a fluid ram having extensible and retractable elements, said ram having a first eleMent connected to said frame and a second element connected to one of said supports with the axis of said ram aligned with the axis of said pinion; and means for supplying pressured fluid to opposite ends of one element of said ram to extend and retract said elements thereby reciprocating said supports between first and second positions.
 2. A lapper as defined in claim 1, in which said last means includes a pressured fluid source; a fluid-actuated device having first and second operative positions; conduit means interconnecting said control device with opposite ends of said one element and with said source; means defining first and second flow paths between said source and opposite ends of said valve with each of said paths having a control valve therein, said control valves being positioned to define said extreme positions for said supports and actuating means for respectively actuating said control valves when said supports approach said extreme positions.
 3. A lapper as defined in claim 2, in which said fluid source is pneumatic.
 4. A lapper as defined in claim 2, in which said valves in said flow paths are magnetically actuated and said actuating means includes a metallic plate.
 5. A lapper as defined in claim 2, in which said conduit means includes separate flow control valves between said control device and respective ends of said one element.
 6. A lapper as defined in claim 1, including the further improvement of first and second polygonal guide bars on said frame; a plurality of guide rollers of resinous material on each of said supports, each guide roller having a first portion engaging one surface of said bar and a second portion engaging a second surface of said bar.
 7. A lapper as defined in claim 5, in which one of said guide bars is an integral extension of said fixed rack.
 8. A lapper for making a multilayer fibrous web comprising a frame, an upper and a lower support reciprocated between extreme positions along spaced horizontal planes; an endless conveyor on each of said supports; first and second guide means for each of said supports, each said guide means comprising a rectangular guide bar on said frame adjacent said support and a plurality of rollers on each support cooperating with said guide bars, each said rollers having an enlarged radial flange cooperating with a surface of said bar; extensions integral with each of the guide bars of one of said supports, said extensions having gear teeth thereon; first and second racks carried by the other of said supports and vertically aligned with the respective extensions; a pair of pinions rotatable about a common axis and respectively interposed between the extensions and racks; a single fluid cylinder and piston rod assembly located between said frame and one of said supports; and means for selectively supplying pressurized fluid to opposite ends of said cylinder to move said supports between extreme positions.
 9. A lapper as defined in claim 8, in which said last means comprises a pressurized pneumatic fluid source; a pneumatically actuated four-way valve; conduit means connecting said four-way valve to said source and opposite ends of said cylinder; means defining first and second flow paths between said source and opposite ends of said valves, each of said flow paths having a control valve incorporated therein with said control valve being supported in spaced relation adjacent one side of one of said supports; and actuating means carried on said one side for opening and closing said control valves.
 10. A lapper as defined in claim 9, including the further improvement of independently adjustable control means in said conduit means between said four way valve and opposite ends of said cylinder for adjusting the flow of fluid to said cylinder. 